


Generations 23: Valentine's Day

by Fier



Series: Generations [25]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Birth, Dogs, F/M, Fluff, Gift Giving, Giving Birth, Pregnancy, Twins, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:27:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26757262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fier/pseuds/Fier
Summary: The Pomeranian from hell creates a problem for Mulder. A very pregnant Dana Scully gives her husband a wonderful Valentine's Day surprise.
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully, Margaret Scully/Walter Skinner
Series: Generations [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1857445
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Title:** Generations 23. Valentine's Day  
>  **Authors:** Macspooky, Eowyn Evenstar
> 
> Hi all! Eowyn and Macspooky here with Mac writing the intro. and doing all the legal routine. You know, "Xfiles" and every one in it belongs to Chris Carter, Fox, Ten Thirteen, etc. etc. etc. You can see all our other stories for the same routine, so I think it's covered. Finished up this one on March 6, 1996. Giving birth is a difficult process. Well, in my case, giving birth to this story proved more time consuming than giving birth to two live children! All comments, flames, etc. can be sent to macspooky@erols.com or Eowyn 72620.3447@compuserve.com. or Eowyn7@ix.netcom.com Enjoy folks!

The gray haired man paced down the corridor of the Hoover building smoking as he went. He'd come to hate these meetings with Skinner. The man had been a useful tool at one time, now he was a major threat. If Mulder was a thorn in his side the AD had become the whole damn bush. Mulder stepped on toes and his theories put him out on the fringes of the Bureau. Skinner was an astute politician, very well respected and with some powerful connections. There was even talk that when the current director's term expired Skinner would make an excellent replacement. 

_Damn... damn... damn._ And now Skinner was firmly on Mulder's side. Hell, worse than that they were now related by marriage. _Shit!_ Well at least that fiasco in Arizona had had one benefit. Mulder and Skinner were now at odds, not even speaking if the reports were to be believed. At least some good had come out of it. The pulling of that backup had been a major miscalculation on one of his associate's part. _Davis would pay eventually. I'm glad I don't have to decide her fate. At least I don't have to take the blame for pulling the backup._ He doubted that had that been his error he would be alive today. You only get so many mistakes and he'd already made his share with the MJ files. Another one so soon and he would have a fatal accident. Especially with the heat that was now coming out of the White House. Faking Schmidt's record had been a stroke of genius, if he did say so himself. With Mulder's track record and cases it was only a matter of time before her particular problem got him injured or killed. He really didn't want the boy to die but he did want him stopped. The AD wouldn't have been able to blame him, with her connections it could never be proved that the changes hadn't been at the behest of her uncle or failing that someone who was trying to curry favor with him. But pulling the backup had been sheer stupidity. It then became obvious that unofficial forces were involved and Skinner had been a master at playing this fact to his advantage.

All the AD had had to do was to allow Schmidt's uncle to receive all the facts. Skinner didn't have to lie, exaggerate or even let the man in on all the background, just enough so that he realized that there were conspiracies in the government unknown to the White House. Now the Executive Branch was stirring up a firestorm in DC trying to get to the bottom of what was going on. And his group had had to assume an extremely low profile.

Making an enemy of Assistant Director Walter Skinner had been a major miscalculation. The man played hard ball and he was playing it now. When had Skinner chosen sides? Scully. Yes it all went back to Dana Scully's disappearance... hell even before that to her assignment to the X-Files. It had seemed perfect. Brilliant, smart, ambitious, good little girl scientist assigned to debunk Mulder's work. It should have been the last straw to force him out of the FBI or at the very least to make him look like a fool. Instead the "obedient" little girl had been willing to listen to Mulder's stupid theories and consider them, and then she had forced him to prove them to her. Hell, that was worse than the partners that just treated him as a nut case. She respected him and focused him so that his work became more scientific, more based in fact and his solve rate, no their solve rate went through the roof. Instead of being at each others throats, they became one of the best teams in the FBI. Well he'd let that go on for about a year before he pulled together all his resources and had the X-files closed down. Skinner had protested even then but had eventually acquiesced.

They had still continued to work together through all the crap that was thrown at Mulder. _That was my major mistake._ He thought to himself as he ground out another of the foul tasting cigarettes. _I should have just let them work together unofficially, but no, I had to try to stop them all together and had her taken._ That had sent Mulder around the bend, a very satisfying occurrence, but it had also pissed Skinner off royally, big mistake. It had not been worth it, getting Skinner mad. The AD had reopened the X-files and had gone after him tooth and nail. 

And he had met Margaret Scully. _Skinner in love. What a delightful thought._ > The smoking man mused to himself sarcastically. _And Mulder married to Scully. Bloody Noah's ark. It should have distracted them, but no, they were more insistent than ever at getting at the truth and more dangerous._ Because Skinner had started calling in all sorts of favors and circulating information that he and his associates would prefer to keep secret. Before, the AD had been a man trying to do his job to the best of his abilities. He'd been rather naive about certain aspects of the government he worked for, and somewhat protective of Mulder. Now he was alert and becoming a player, damn near as driven and intense as Mulder, and very protective of the younger agent. Word was out among those in the know at the Bureau that if you wanted Mulder you were going to have to go through the Assistant Director to get him. Well hopefully between the fight with the boy and this new baby... 

The AD's son had been born a couple of weeks previously. He'd taken a couple of days off but had refused to take longer. Seems he didn't trust Davis. _She's lost her usefulness. Might as well have her transferred out since Skinner wasn't going to let her into a position of power again._ When he'd suggested to Davis that she should protest Skinner's treatment of her as discriminatory against her because she was a woman she had glared and said that she couldn't. The AD obviously had something on her and if that was the case she was useless where she was. He took another puff and debated what to do about her. _Mostly useless, but too dangerous to leave on her own. Hmmm._ Well with Mulder and Skinner at odds maybe it didn't matter. He paused to light another cigarette before entering into AD Skinner's office satisfied that for the time being at least Mulder was under control.

* * *

Walter Skinner looked up as Cancerman entered the office. God how he hated these meetings. The only satisfaction he got was that the smoking bastard now seemed to hate them as much as he did. As a result they were now infrequent, short and to the point. They sat down to discuss several current cases.

Skinner then proceeded to detail the progress of a White House investigation into the cancellation of backup on the Arizona case. He was pleased to see that Cancerman looked uncomfortable at the discussion. By now the AD was firmly convinced that the man before him hadn't been behind the backup cancellation. He seemed as angry about it as Skinner had been. Walter knew that it wasn't because of what had almost happened to Mulder but because of the trouble it had brought down on his head. Skinner decided to use the leverage this investigation had given him to try and remove a thorn in his side. "As you can see from the records both the alterations of Agent Schmidt's file and the cancellation of the back up can be traced back to Davis' office. I feel that it is about time that she was removed from Washington. Perhaps the Bismark office could use her talents or maybe Fairbanks? I believe they both have openings." 

Cancerman hated being dictated to, but Skinner had him by the balls. He nodded his agreement. _Davis would now have to be watched. Bitter operatives often talked._ It was when he turned away from Skinner in disgust that he saw it. _F**k! It couldn't be... but it is. Damned alien paper weight._ He had it on good authority that the last one had been smashed to pieces against Skinner's wall. If you looked hard enough you could still see the dent. So where did this one come from? Surely not...? No. Reports said that the break was final. Yet who else would have given him such a thing? The AD certainly wouldn't buy it for himself. He turned to look at Skinner.

Walter Skinner met his eyes with an ice cold smile of satisfaction. _This feels almost as good as telling him to kiss my ass. Well let's rub his nose in it, he'll find out soon enough anyway._ "Excuse me a minute but our meeting is running a little long and I'm expected somewhere."

The AD walked over to his phone and buzzed Angela. Skinner watched Cancerman's face as he talked to his assistant thinking, _Should I call him Fox? No. That might be pushing it._

"Angela, would you call Agent Mulder and tell him my meeting's running slightly longer than I thought and that I'll meet him for lunch in an hour. Thanks." He saw a look of pure hatred swiftly cross the smoking bastard's face before it was quickly replaced with one of cold indifference. 

_Damn. All this shit coming down from the White House and apparently they are on speaking terms again. Well, we'll have to see what we can do about that._ He thought to himself before finishing the meeting quickly and leaving. 

Skinner finished filling out the reports and forms for Davis' transfer. He signed off on them feeling very satisfied that he had gotten rid of or at least gotten out of the way one traitorous agent. He was looking forward to informing her of her transfer to North Dakota this afternoon. Finishing early he headed to Mulder's office to see if he was ready.

* * *

Knocking on the door marked Special Agent Fox Mulder Walter Skinner entered when he heard Mulder call out. "I got done early and thought I 'd see if you were ready."

"Yeah I can go now." Mulder stood up, grabbed his suit jacket off the back of the chair, and walked towards his boss, putting on his suit coat as he went. As he started to reach behind Skinner for his overcoat he sniffed. "Damn it, Walter, you stink."

"Very funny, Fox. I've been closeted with you know who all morning." 

"That's obvious from the smell. Anything productive or are they going to shut me down next week?"

"Not as long as I have any say in the matter. And yeah we had a productive little discussion."

At his grim smile Mulder pumped him for more. "So are you going to tell me why your looking so sated? I know it's not because Cancerman's nickname is BJ. Let me guess they've got a giant sewer slug under the streets of New York that they want me to chase down."

Skinner gave Mulder a disapproving look before answering, "Not exactly. The DC office is going to be losing one of its more ambitious female agents to the North Dakota field office. I'm afraid I can't tell you who until she's been informed." At Mulder's wide grin Skinner cut in before he could say anything. "Seems that some rather unfortunate decisions have been traced back to her office. Oh, by the way, Cancerman noticed my new paperweight. He didn't like it at all. I'd be careful if I were you. His group could get mean if pushed and the White House is pushing."

Mulder smiled even more and squeezed Walter's shoulder before grabbing his coat. "You know that news makes dinning with you smelling like this worth it. I'll watch my back. Wish I could have seen his face though. What do you feel like for lunch?" They headed out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Dana and Fox stood in the nursery looking at the piles of baby things that had suddenly come their way. Today had been Dana's last day at work. Although she was not due for another month, she had suddenly gotten huge. She had had to buy a support belt to hold her abdomen and keep pressure off her bladder and her feet had begun to swell. When Fox had called Amy, and Amy had insisted she begin her maternity leave, Dana hadn't argued. There were times when she still felt as though she were walking on eggshells with Fox since Arizona, and she had been treading just a wee bit carefully. Things had been wonderful between them, but she knew Fox worried about her all the time now. She was trying very hard to be considerate of his feelings. He would always have his dark moments, his bleak moods. There would be times when he was difficult to live with, but in the end he always came around, and then she would try very hard to be extra gentle with him. The bad times came when he was deeply emotionally involved with something or someone, as he had been with his unborn child these nine months.

Fox watched his wife sort the baby clothes removing tickets and getting them ready to be laundered. No one had been more shocked than he had at the baby shower that had been thrown for her at the office. He had had no idea that "Mrs. Spooky" had been so popular. Of course, he admittedly tended to be oblivious to these things. Female staff members had taken her out to lunch. He had gone off to do some research, and when he came back he had found his door sealed with crime scene tape and a keep out sign. He had immediately burst in, only to find it filled with women. Banners had been hung all over, and his desk had been stacked with presents. Raucous laughter filled the air. He had excused himself quickly seeing Dana looking so surprised and happy. The scene was so entirely normal and he knew that every once in awhile, his wife needed the normal, the mundane, to maintain her sanity in the face of his frequent "madness." He had met Skinner in the hallway who had informed him that Angela had organized the shower "amongst" the girls, but that he felt obligated to stick his nose in and say hello. Fox wished him luck and with a pleased chuckle headed out. He would never be able to find anything again, but that was okay. Somehow, he didn't mind as much as he might have under other circumstances. Also, Dana had informed him later that Skinner had walked in just as one of the secretaries was making guestimates as to the size of the private parts of the Assistant Director's anatomy just as he had walked in the door, and the description of his face when he had heard it was well worth the loss of some paperwork. All information that could be used to needle "Wally" was always more than welcome.

Now the nursery resembled a baby superstore and after way he had teased Skinner about overkill in the infantwear and toys department! His mom had sent so much, and Aunt Sophia had gone crazy buying boy's clothing which she had insisted that they were going to need inspite of the fact that they were certain it was a girl. She had even purchased a second crib and chest of drawers in a beautiful dark pine and told them that if they didn't like it, she would just move it downstairs for when she had visitors. They had indulged her eccentricities. How could you argue with wonderful after all? Dana had asked that no one in the family give her a shower. She had missed Melissa's because she had been ill, and she had wanted Margaret to get a lot of attention so they had thrown a huge one for her, and she already had so many things, she had felt it would be wasteful. Besides, there was a point when people got royally sick of baby showers, and Dana felt, wisely, that it had been reached in her family. With what she had gotten today, they were suffering from a severe glut of baby clothes. Someone had even purchased them a vibrating baby chair, something his wife had declared to him later was the "ultimate waste" in baby equipment. 

Fox slipped his arms around her from behind and nuzzled her neck.

"Happy ?" he whispered in her ear rubbing her tummy.

"Yes..."

"Me too...." One hand worked its way to her breast as another slid down in the opposite direction. Unlike many men who were turned off by their pregnant wife's size, he had never found her more sexy or responsive... not that she had ever been unresponsive. 

"Mmm..." she murmured as his hand found it's target. He was pressed tightly against her, filled with desire. Suddenly the doorbell rang... and rang... and rang...

"Get rid of them...." admonished Dana. While he was gone, she was going to move this little exercise to the bed. The baby clothes could be washed later. She wasn't due for another month.

"Hold your damn horses will you...." yelled Fox going to the door. His weapon was at ready although not revealed. It was quite a sight that assailed him when he finally reached the door.

"Bluto" must have stood 6'4" tall and weighed 300 lbs. all of it solid muscle. He had hair down to his shoulders and wore a Viking hat, leather dropped waist bell bottoms with studs and a ripped t-shirt. Fox thought of him as Bluto because on one arm he had a large tattoo of Popeye and on the other Olive Oyl. In his hand he held a picnic basket.

"Are you Fox Mulder?"

"Uh... yeah..." said Fox.

The man pushed his way in the door. Fox caught sight of a Harley-Davidson.... vintage....parked in the garden, the flower bed to be exact.

"Your son is responsible for my daughter..." said the man.

"There must be some mistake... I don't have a son...." He was reaching for his gun.

"Oh yeah.... well, if you can't keep the little bastard on a leash, you can deal with the results. I hate this f**king thing anyway. Damn women have to have them you know." He shoved the picnic basket into an astonished Mulder's hands and walked out the door so fast the agent didn't have a chance to react. Before Fox knew it, Bluto was on his motorcycle and had roared out the gate and down the street just as two police cars converged on the house.

"Fox..." said Dana from the top of the stairs. She had gotten worried when he hadn't come back up.

The police came in.

"We got a report of trouble at this address.... someone said there was a weird guy hanging out in front of the house."

"Uh..." said Fox... "I... uh... don't quite know... I mean... this guy in a Popeye tattoo came to the door and gave me this..." He knew he didn't sound very coherent. It had been a difficult day. 

"There is a ticking sound coming from this basket..." said the younger of the two police officers. He looked all of nineteen and fresh out of the academy.

"Oh my God... Out... both of you... out now... I'll go radio the bomb squad..." said the other patrolman. 

Fox gently set down the basket and gathering Dana headed out the door. _I wander if this could be cancerman's revenge for Davis. Wouldn't think so. Too heavy handed for his style but you never know._ Quickly he went to the downstairs apartment and got Aunt Sophia and Thing and Krycek. The two cars cordoned off the area and kept neighbors at bay.

* * *

Walter Skinner had left work a little early, something of a rarity for him. He was fed up from all the meetings he had had earlier. Meetings... Meetings... Meetings... That was the beauty of government. Nothing got done because the employees were always at meetings about why things weren't getting done. Meg had promised him a roast beef dinner, and he was eager to get home and play with Jr. Fox. Somehow or other, much to the consternation of his son-in-law, that was the name that had stuck, not the child's first name of Walter. He took it philosophically. It was better than Wally. At least there would be no "Leave It To Beaver" jokes in his little boy's life. 

Anyway, he had neglected to turn off his scanner, and all of a sudden he heard Mulder's address... Mulder's address... bomb squad... Oh, God, what now? Maybe he shouldn't have been surprised that something was going down at the Mulder place. It had been what... maybe two hours since Mulder had gotten into trouble... that long?... Then there was always Cancerman... he had been none too happy that the AD and Mulder were working together again. And jeez with Dana pregnant... He did a wheelie in his little sport's car and was promptly stopped by a traffic cop... oh great... "Make my day." They lived in the murder capital of the world and this bozo was giving traffic tickets to FBI directors... By the time he convinced the cop of who he was and where he was going, and actually got to Mulder's house, the street was blocked off, and the press had arrived... and two guys from the bomb squad dressed in full armor were coming out of Mulder's house.

"Walter Skinner... AD, FBI... What the hell is going on here?"

"Some guy in a Popeye tattoo left a picnic basket here. He looked weird so neighbors called the police. It was ticking so they notified the bomb squad...." said a young officer.

"Is this some kind of a joke?" roared one of the bomb squad men. He was in Mulder's face. "I mean we get all geared up... get the adrenaline pumping and... I think you are under arrest..."

"Hey?" said Mulder backing away.

"Well, somebody is going to be f**king under arrest..." ranted the man.

Skinner approached flashing his ID. "What's going on?"

"This... this is what is going on..." the enraged police man spat opening the picnic basket. Inside was a small immaculately groomed terrified white poodle who looked as though she had been tranquilized and a litter of five pups all of whom bore a distinct resemblance to Thing. The guy in the Popeye tattoo had lain them neatly and gently on clean receiving blankets and had placed in the basket a small ticking clock apparently to sooth the pups during the motorcycle ride.

"I'll kill him...." roared Mulder. "So that's what you were doing when you slipped the leash that night you little bastard...." He walked toward Thing whom Sophia had on a leash with a menacing look on his face and as the video camera rolled, Thing told him exactly what he thought of the situation by lifting his leg and peeing all over his brand new $200 leather work shoes.

"Okay... that's it..." roared Skinner. "Everybody go home. Party is over." He turned to the policeman in charge and said with a smile, "Think we can put an APB out on the man who abandoned the puppies? There must be some law against it somewhere." The police sergeant shook his head no but smiled ruefully.

Just then Meg ran up with Jr. Fox in the front carrier... "My, God... Walter... Dana's neighbor called..." She looked frantic which didn't help Skinner's mood. It was too soon after her surgery for aggravation.

"Everything is okay, Meg...." he said slipping an arm around her forcing himself to remain calm. 

"But they said....."

"False alarm....." he squeezed her gently. "Mulder, Scully, Sophia.... back in the house." He turned his attention back to the policemen and told the senior officer to have fun dealing with his young recruit. Poor kid was never going to live it down. Calling the bomb squad for a postpartum poodle. Then they all went inside, Fox sort of hopping in one stockinged foot.

"Uh..... I'll make coffee....." said Dana. She looked at Fox and started to laugh. 

"So much for my roast beef dinner...." muttered Walter.

"Well, thank God everyone is okay...." said Meg. Sophia who held Thing protectively in her arms was looking into the picnic basket. "You've been a very naughty boy, Thing...." she said softly.

"Oh, my, is this what all the fuss is about?" asked Meg. She handed the baby to Walter ignoring the steam that was still coming out of his ears. He was still somewhat undecided about whether or not to have a snit at Mulder. _Only Mulder!_ I mean it didn't exactly make the Bureau look good to have a tough G-Man being put into his place by a five pound Pom. He sure hoped it wasn't a slow news day or Mulder would be the film at eleven.

The little white poodle snarled.... terrified.

"Oh, it's okay, sweetie," said Margaret softly slowly holding out a hand for the terrified animal to sniff. "Poor little thing... you must be so frightened... how can something your size protect your babies?" Within a moment, she had eased the dog out of the basket, always within sight of her babies. "It's okay."

"What the hell am I supposed to do with a goddamed poodle and a litter of puppies..." muttered Mulder who was going through a phone book intently. "I hate poodles. Your ass is grass, Thing..." Dana wasn't saying much... anything in fact. She was too afraid she was going to lose it and start laughing again, and once she did, she would never be able to stop. The look on his face when Thing had lifted his leg.... She chewed on her lip and watched the coffee drip. "But they are so cute..." said Margaret... "Don't worry. We'll take two... maybe two little females. Jr. Fox is going to need pets...."

"We will?" inquired Walter. "He does?" _Jeez...what the hell have I gotten myself into... kids, grandkids... now dogs... Over grown rats more like._

Mulder looked up from the phone book at Walter, who was not looking happy at the thought. His father-in-law with two little dust mops... maybe this had an up side after all. If word got out at the Bureau... Skinner looked like the great dane type or maybe a doberman but two little fuzz balls. _Hell, they were going to be even smaller than Thing judging by the mother's size. Next Christmas a picture of the AD with two little dogs... now what do I want not to publish.... hmmm?_

"Well, of course. Bill and I could never have a dog when the kids were growing up, but JF here is going to be more fortunate." laughed Margaret. "What do you call these things anyway PommyPoos... Pooranians...

"Please, mom, stop..." pleaded Dana. She was laughing so hard now she had to put down the cup of coffee she was pouring and run to the bathroom.

Mulder and Skinner exchanged looks. Mulder, who had been frantically leafing through the yellow pages, muttered something about Oodles of Pompoodles and went to the phone as Dana returned and poured coffee and Sophia went for a large box and some old towels and blankets. She tore out the side and placed Mama Dog and puppies in it along with the basket and clock and set out a bowl of water and some of Thing's food for the mother who was ravenous and thirsty.

"No... I have to leave him tonight..." Mulder was saying... "Okay, that's fine... No problem... so long as I can bring him tonight..." He hung up the phone. "Say, Walt, how would you like to do me a big favor since you are going to be the father of two of these Pommypooranians...."

"Uh what do you need, Mulder?" he asked reluctantly. He had already missed out on the roast beef over "the case of the exploding poodle" as he was coming to think of it. Hmm... maybe Cancerman really had set this little domestic comedy up. If you couldn't kill them, drive them crazy... It was plausible... sort of. _I'm starting to get as paranoid as Fox!_

"Company to the all night animal hospital in Annapolis," he grinned. "They said if I bring Thing tonight... they'll operate tomorrow, humanely of course, which is more than he deserves, and we can bring him home later in the day. Then, you little son of a bitch...." he grinned wickedly in Thing's direction, "we can start calling you No Nuts." He looked around at the women... all the women... daring them to say something. Nobody did.

"I'm starved," he announced. "How about I order out some Chinese?"

Squawk... Squawk... No nuts... Squawk... No Nuts... No Nuts... No Nuts...

"Do they do parrots too?" inquired Scully innocently.

"Scully, I'm not even sure they have figured out where a parrot's nuts are," Fox informed her.

"Or even if they have any..." added Skinner dryly.

"Well, you better watch out...." said Margaret ominously. "We know just what to do if either one of you ever decides to slip your leash one night. We know just where they are, and my daughter is well qualified to do the surgery. We won't need the all night animal hospital either."

"Uh... I'm really hungry, Mulder," said Skinner quickly... "Let's not call... Let's go pick up the food and afterwards maybe we can take the scenic route down to Annapolis... even if it is after dark. We don't really need this coffee anyway."

* * *

After dinner Mulder and Skinner loaded Thing up and headed to drop him off at the animal hospital. Skinner was still slightly irritated at Mulder for managing to again stir up trouble. He supposed it wasn't really Fox's fault this time but how the hell he always managed to... 

Mulder's words interrupted his train of thought. "Well I managed to make an ass of myself, again. I should have just lifted the damn lid after getting everybody out and then the police wouldn't have scrambled the bomb squad and I wouldn't end up looking like an idiot. Spooky Mulder the biggest paranoid stooge in the FBI."

Walter who had been thinking the same thing most of the evening suddenly decided that he was the one being idiotic. "Damn it, Fox. You've got reason to be afraid. Admittedly a bomb isn't Cancerman's style, but still, you never know. Hell, I don't know how far Davis would go but she didn't take her transfer well and that tape you gave me was one of the major clubs I held over her head to get her to accept it without protest. Do I have to go on with the list? Don't take chances with your safety, okay?"

"It wasn't a chance..."

"But we didn't know that. Did we? Hell the bomb squad took it seriously until they ran a few tests. I want your word that you'll play it safe."

"I always..."

Now Walter was getting mad again but for a different reason. "No you don't. You put your life on the line all the time for people who can't defend themselves. Blindly jumping in to help someone before weighing the dangers or the consequences to yourself. I've been on egg shells since I pulled Scully off field work afraid that something would come up and that no one would be there to back you up. You've got to stop taking unnecessary risks."

"Yes, Sir." Mulder's voice was firm but Walter couldn't tell from the tone whether he had made Fox mad, hurt his feelings or if everything he had just said had fallen on deaf ears. He doubted that Mulder would take him seriously.

* * *

It was eight pm a couple of days after the trip to the animal hospital with Thing and Walter Skinner was tired and depressed. He had had to assign Fox Mulder to the VCS section for the next three months and he didn't like it at all. Mulder had stormed out of his office that afternoon furious with his decision but until Scully made it back it was just too risky to have Mulder out on his own investigating and with the luck that he'd had for picking replacement partners he wasn't about to assign someone new to Fox. So when the pressure for the temporary reassignment had come down he hadn't fought it too hard. This time the pressure was from the White House. They wanted the agent who appeared to be the target of the backup being pulled out of field work while they finished their investigation. They didn't want any 'accidents' in the line of duty. 

Well at least the smoke had stopped coming from the adjoining office an hour ago. Cancerman must be gone. That smoking bastard, he knew had to be behind the pressure Walter was under to get Fox Mulder out from under the AD's direct authority. Well profiles of killers should be relatively safe for Mulder for the time being. Walter wondered how long Fox would be mad this time and sighed. Why couldn't they just leave Mulder alone. He hadn't stirred up any trouble for several months, they should just let sleeping dogs lie.

* * *

Cancerman was finishing up several reports and none to happy. The damn day had gone on forever and he'd run out of cigarettes over an hour ago. Well he at least had the satisfaction of pissing Agent Mulder off. Skinner should have his hands full for awhile. He was getting ready to leave when he stopped and listened to voices coming from the AD's office.

"Come in." Walter Skinner called in answer to a knock on his office door.

"Hey, Walt, you're going to miss Little Squirt's bath time if you stay here much longer. Come on, call it a night and I'll give you a ride home."

_Shit that was Mulder and he didn't sound the least bit upset with Skinner. The SOB even called him Walt!_ Cancerman thought to himself, wishing more than ever for a cigarette he even contemplated the used ones in the ashtray. _No. I'm not that desperate. Yet._

Walter Skinner looked up a bit surprised himself to see Fox smiling at him. "I figured you wouldn't be talking to me for awhile?"

"Hell, Walt, I wasn't mad at you, I know your hands are tied. Doesn't mean I have to like it though. I really hate seeing them push you around because of the X-files. Besides with Dana due in a few weeks it's kind of nice not to have to go gallivanting all over the country chasing aliens and monsters. Unless something major comes up between now and when she returns from maternity leave I'll ride it out here in DC."

Walter smiled at Fox. Maybe his talk the other night had gotten through. After his last major burst of anger over the Phoenix case his son-in-law really seemed to have lost the edge of anger that had driven him for so long. Some of the guilt, too, apparently. _Fox might actually let himself be happy for a change._ "Let me sign off on this report and then I'll take you up on that ride home." Something about Mulder's look told him that Fox had more on his mind. 

"Okay, Fox, what's bothering you?"

_Fox? Nobody calls him Fox. Do they? Damn I want a cigarette._

"You should drive in when you're going to work this late. It's not safe walking after dark to the subway on cold nights like this. There aren't many people out and gang activity has been increasing." At his father-in-law's disgusted look Mulder continued. "Don't give me that crap. You're the one who's always telling me that anyone can be a target. I distinctly remember you lecturing me just two days ago about taking unnecessary risks. Well that goes for you, too. Two or three gang members together on an ambush... even with your gun... look it doesn't hurt to be cautious, okay?"

"I'll take it under advisement, mother."

"Very funny. Come on, Dad, Mom said she'd wait til nine to give Squirt a bath."

"Not Junior Fox?"

"Now don't you start. Growing up with the moniker of Fox was bad enough. Junior Fox is god awful. Despite what all the Scullys insist on calling him. I don't hear you calling him that by the way."

"Yea. I agree Junior Fox isn't my favorite appellation, but it beats Little Wally all to hell. Last thing the poor little fellow needs is to be constantly asked where the Beav is."

"Well what did you want him to be called?"

"Either Fox or Walt would have been fine with me."

"Well I have the feeling that he's going to have to grow into those. You know every now and then when Scully gets real pissed at her big brother she'll call him Billy. It's great... she really manages to get under his skin with that. Makes him feel about ten years old is my guess from the way he acts."

"I saw her do that last week. Very funny. 'Course it unfortunately reminds me of my sister." 

At Mulder's sudden grin and move to comment Walter interrupted him. "Don't start, Mulder."

"Now would I do that, Wally?"

_Skinner's son was named after Mulder! Wally?! F**k._ He grabbed one of the butts out of the ashtray and lit up.

They grinned at each other. "Guess he's going to be Little Squirt to us for awhile." Mulder finished. "Come on, Walt, I want to get home."

Cancerman heard Skinner's office door open and close. After all that he had just heard he realized that it would be virtually impossible to come between Walter Skinner and Fox Mulder. They were closer than anyone had suspected. _Dad? Shit! I should have figured. That boy's smarter than either of us, Bill._ Well he would have to come up with a new plan to stop Mulder's work. In the mean time he needed a smoke and a drink. He sure as hell wasn't about to report this development to his superiors.


	3. Chapter 3

Fox didn't know why he decided to leave work early. He really had nothing pressing to do and he had already put in his forty hours anyway. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the entire building seemed empty without Dana in it. He put his key in the door and was promptly greeted by Thing. Having duly recuperated from his surgery, the little monster had become suddenly devoted to his master. With a sigh Fox bent over and picked him up carefully in case he was still sore. It had only been 48 hours since they had brought him home after all. Besides he felt a little guilty... I mean suppose someone had cut his nuts off after Dr. Bambi... not that, he only realized later, Dana hadn't been tempted. Bambi calling him Fox had really pissed Dana off.

"Hi, stupid," he muttered, "Guess Aunt Sophia went to visit someone huh...." Krycek sat in the corner of the family room carelessly scattering seeds. "No... nuts.... No... nuts...." he began to repeat over and over. Fox chuckled. Jeez... it was so much more peaceful when Sophia was home. Something smelled good coming from the kitchen and he decided to check it out. The sight that assailed him came as something of a shock. Dana was standing with the refrigerator door open staring into it... a cleaning rag in her hand. He swore the baby had gotten bigger just since he'd left for work that morning. Tears were running down her face.

"Dana, what is it?" he asked in alarm.

"There's nothing to clean...." she sniffed closing the door. She knew she was being really silly but she wanted to clean her house. 

"Of course there isn't. Mrs. Evans keeps the house immaculate..." Fran Evans was an old friend of Dana's mom. She had raised five kids but then the death of her husband had left her at a loss and with a greatly diminished income. Meg had suggested that she use her domestic skills to start a cleaning business. To her consternation, Walter had been the first to hire her and Fox Mulder had been the second. She kept Meg's suburban house spotless for lookers and the Mulder house immaculate.

"But I..." she made an effort to pull herself together. Jeez... she wasn't due for another three weeks... and she was going crazy....

"But you are acting silly..." he said . Seeing the hurt look that crossed her face, he mentally kicked himself. He put the dog down and taking the cleaning rag from her hand wrapped his arms around her.

"Feeling a little lost?" he asked softly. He felt her nod yes.

"It's okay..." She looked up at him. 

"I didn't think... I didn't realize what it was going to be like.... not being your partner..." she said.

"But you are my partner... You'll always be my partner... Mr. and Mrs. Spooky against the world..." Thing was scratching at his leg to get back up but Mulder pushed him away. The dog went over to Mrs. Thing and the pups but she snarled at him so in a snit he went to join Krycek. The bird always welcomed his company. He had vague thoughts of what he could do to Mulder's pants leg on the way by, but somehow that didn't seem quite as much fun anymore since his surgery, so he quietly retreated leaving his people embracing. Ignoring the animals, Fox brought his lips down against his wife's and kissed her. 

"I have an idea, sweetie." he said, "Let's go pick up your wedding ring at the jeweler. It's been ready for a few days. It's not too cold out. We can walk."

"Okay," she said with a smile. When he was like this, it was difficult to remember the bad times. She wondered how many women were married to men who were happy just to hold them sometimes the way Fox did.

There were hints of spring in the air even though it was only mid-February. It happened like that in Washington sometimes, rare precious moments during dull gray winters when one was lifted out of the doldrums and reminded of daffodils and sunshine to come. 

"Oh, look Fox.... crocus..." she said looking down at the small front garden. They had popped up right through the Harley tire tracks Bluto had left in the garden. "Aren't they lovely?"

"Yeah...." he grinned, "Harley little flowers aren't they?" Dana moaned and then laughed. That was about the worse joke he had ever told... nearly as bad as the one about the Rary. They stood for a long moment studying the patch of earth, and perhaps for the first time, Fox stopped thinking of the house as a noose around his neck and started thinking of it as his own patch of earth, a place where his little girl could pick flowers. Then, arms wrapped around each other, they headed to jewelers to get Dana's ring. 

It still didn't fit of course. They had known it wouldn't, but he didn't quite expect it to distress her the way it did. For a moment he thought she might cry, but she was out in public and would not permit herself to do so. Then something caught his eye and he started to laugh. He said something to the jeweler.

"We'll take it... it's perfect... You can wear it instead of your wedding ring..." He held it up to her. It was a gold charm for her bracelet... a whimsical little thing of a pregnant woman. When she saw it she couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm not so sure I want to be reminded of being as big as a house...."

"Of course you do.... One day soon when you haven't slept in three weeks, these will seem like the good old days..." he laughed. "Come on, love... Let's go home to our beautiful house and menagerie."

"Okay, but you have to get me an ice cream cone on the way... Pistachio... it has to be pistachio..."

"Anything, babe, as long as you don't put sardines on top...." 

After picking up the desired ice cream cone they stopped and rented a movie, and after they had eaten dinner Dana made some pop corn and they settled in to watch it, Thing and Krycek settled on Fox's lap. Mrs. Thing wasn't leaving her pups much yet, so she couldn't be included in the group. They watched the film for awhile, but it was rather boring.

"You know, sweetheart, we've never discussed a middle name for the baby," said Dana.

"We've never discussed a name," he replied feeling a little weird somehow. Here he was in a house that he owned, his arm around a pregnant wife, a dog and a parrot sitting on his lap, and a poodle with a litter of puppies in the kitchen. What the hell had happened?

"We've never had to, Spook. I always knew it would be Samantha...."

"I love you for that, Dana..." he said softly, "for giving up choosing a name because you thought I wanted Samantha..."

"But don't you?"

"No, babe... if we call our daughter Samantha that would be like... well, it would just kind of like admitting that she wasn't ever coming back... I mean unless you had your heart set on the name...."

"No... pick one... a name..." she looked up at him and smiled.... bravely.

"How about Hortense?"

"Henrietta..." she countered.

"Wilhimina...."

"Prudence...."

"Brenda..." he said finally. He knew if he kept her laughing she was going to have to get up and go to the bathroom and he liked her right where she was.

"But what about your promise to Gran?"

"I promised I wouldn't name my son Brendan... I didn't say anything about a daughter..."

"It's beautiful, Fox. I've always loved it."

"So pick a middle name...."

"Marie," she said immediately. "Brenda Marie Mulder....."

"Brenda Marie Scully Mulder," he replied. He bent over and kissed her. Then he placed Thing and Krycek on the love seat and held out his hand to help her up.

"And just what exactly do you have in mind Mr. Mulder?" she asked him on the way up the stairs.

"You'll see.... if I can find the key to that stupid chastity belt you are wearing...."

"Oh, you mean the one that is holding the baby in..." she chuckled because that was the way it felt.

"It'll be alright...."

"Okay, Mulder, but if you get bitten I'm not going to tell everyone it was Thing..."

"Little babies don't have teeth...." he said as they entered the bedroom. He started slipping her blouse off. She shivered with anticipation.

"Sometimes they do, Mulder... sometimes they do.... That, however, will be your problem." She pulled him down on the bed next to her and began showering him with kisses.

* * *

"Okay push, Dana. Again... Very good. I can see the head, shouldn't be long now." Dr. Amy Chan was encouraging one of her patients. 

Fox Mulder felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. "How are you holding up, Fox?"

"I could use a drink. This is taking forever." At the look his wife shot him he decided any more such comments would have to wait until he was alone with Walter.

Walter Skinner seeing his step daughter's look and Mulder's sudden discomfort grinned and replied. "Buck up, Mulder, you've been in worse situations. Think of the Jersey sewer."

Dana Scully Mulder shot her step father a look that shut him up quickly. As far as she was concerned he wasn't her boss right now and another crack like that and he was going to get a piece of her mind. _Oh god here comes another contraction. Breath... breath... breath... PUSH...!_

"Come on sweetheart, push. That's it you can do it. Scream if you want to." Mulder was frustrated with Dana. She was being stoic and stubborn. Refusing to have any pain medication and holding in any screams. He knew it was hurting her because his hand where she held it was numb by now and this had been going on for over thirty hours. "Come on, Shorts, quit trying to be so brave and scream."

"One of you has to be brave, Mulder. You're a basket case." Skinner whispered in his ear. 

Dana watched as Fox grinned up at him and replied. "At least I'm going to cut the cord." As the contraction ended she panted heavily giving her husband and step father the eye. _Great, just what I need two comedians._ She thought. But she was thankful for Skinner's presence. It had a calming effect on her husband and Fox definitely needed calming right now. Her contractions had started yesterday afternoon and progressed normally if a tad bit on the slow side. Fox had gone up the wall when she told him that she was having contractions every ten minutes when he had gotten home from work. 

"Why didn't you call me? What if something had gone wrong? I should have been here. Damn it, Dana, you're not going to go through this alone!"

"I wasn't planning to, but once every ten minutes means it's very early labor. If they had gotten closer together then I would have called."

He hadn't looked happy but had bitten his lip and let it go. "I'm calling Walt and telling him I won't be in tomorrow."

"Now don't get everyone all excited. You can call Mom and Walter when we're on the way to the hospital."

"Now whose not thinking? That could be the middle of the night. You can call and wake Skinner up at three in the morning if you want but not me. He's been looking pretty sleepy of late anyway. He's got the night time feeding remember."

Dana smiled at her husband. _He does have a point._ "Okay. If I'm still having contractions around nine we'll call then."

"Agreed."

Fox Mulder then proceeded to drive her crazy for the rest of the night. He wouldn't let her lift anything. Insisted on fixing dinner and had a fit when she wanted to go for a walk afterwards, absolutely refusing to let her go until she pulled out one of the myriad of books he had purchased and pointed out where it said that many doctors recommended walking during the early stages of labor. He'd agreed but had hovered the whole time. Finally nine came and he had called her mom and step father. 

Her mom had of course wanted to come over but she'd had a caesarean section only a few weeks before and all three of them, Dana, Fox and Walter, had vetoed that idea. Walter had told Meg that if she rested then he would take her to the hospital when Dana got near delivering. Fox promised to call them as things progressed with frequent updates. He sent her up to bed at ten telling her to get some sleep. 

She hadn't felt like arguing, so she went knowing full well that with her contractions between eight and ten minutes apart she wouldn't get much rest. First he cleaned the kitchen then she heard him vacuuming the house. _He must really be nervous. Hadn't he lectured her just yesterday about Fran doing all the cleaning? The house was spotless._ And in between he checked on her every fifteen minutes. After the whole first floor and been swept she heard him pacing then flipping channels and finally grow quiet. 

A half an hour later with little sleep and the contractions getting closer and stronger she decided to go downstairs for company. Fox was in the family room stretched out on the couch watching one of _those_ tapes. "Contemplating what you've been missing, Spook?" _Had he forgotten the night before already?_

He looked up embarrassed. "They used to help me relax. Not doing any good tonight. I never noticed how stupid the plots are."

"I don't think they sell because of their intricate plotting." She replied laughing.

He stopped the tape and asked, "I thought you were supposed to be sleeping?"

"Sleep doesn't come so easily when your gut feels like someone punched you in it every five or six minutes."

"Are the contractions that close? Maybe it's time to go to the hospital."

"Not yet. If you think it's boring here it's even worse there. They'll want to hook me up to a monitor and won't let me move. I want to stay here as long as I can. Let's watch a movie that we both can enjoy."

"You don't like 'Eatapuss Rex'? It's based on a classic."

She'd laughed and cuddled up next to him on the love seat. He'd vetoed her idea of Sleepless in Seattle 'It's a chicks flick,' but had given in and gone with When Harry Met Sally. Finally around four in the morning she'd woken Fox, who had finally succumbed to exhaustion and fallen asleep holding her, and told him the contractions were five minutes apart. She didn't tell him that they had been for over an hour. 

Her labor had progressed slowly. The initial exam had shown her to be dilated to three centimeters when she went into the hospital. Fox had called her mom and Walter around six, knowing that Junior Fox would be dining and Walter getting ready for work and told them that they were at the hospital but that it would be awhile before the baby came. The day had been long and tiring. She hadn't wanted to take pain killers and so had resisted. But the pain was wearing her down and she knew that her husband hated to see her suffer. Fox had paced, watched TV, until Dana couldn't take it any longer and insisted that he turn it off, and called Skinner every couple of hours. At first he had called on the regular office line and Angela had put him through. By the third call he was writing down Skinner's new cell phone number which the AD said he would keep turned on during the day. Dana had thought about telling Fox that Skinner didn't need an update every ninety minutes or so but had noticed that the calls although never more than five minutes or so seemed to calm her husband. So that when Skinner stopped by on his way home from work to see how she was doing and offered to stay she had gratefully accepted. 

Fox had looked like he wanted to argue but one look at her and Walter and he hadn't said anything. So for the last four hours Stanley and Ollie had been trading barbs and talking work. Dana had even managed to join in the work discussions between contractions and found that having her step father here to pass the time really helped. When she reached ten centimeters Skinner had called Margaret who had called Bill Scully. Bill dropped his wife off to watch J F while he drove Mom to the hospital. Mom had been sitting quietly on one side of her bed talking to her off and on while her husband divided his time between telling her to breath and joking with Walter. _Fox would have driven them all crazy without Walter here._ She thought to herself as she felt another contraction coming on.

"Push, Dana. This should be it. Great... push again, the heads crowning. Super... here she is." Amy held up her new daughter for her and Fox to see. She'd been listening to Mulder's banter with Walter and was going to call his bluff. If he cut the cord then she would be even with Dana, who had bet her that neither of the big strong FBI men would have the stomach for it. 

"Okay, Mulder, are you ready to cut the cord?" 

Fox Mulder lost some of his color, but nodded yes. He saw the look of amusement and understanding that Walter shot him and decided he would be macho some other time. "That's okay, Amy, I'll let you do it." 

Dana, as weak as she was, made a fist and brought it down in the traditional yes sign. Amy mumbled, "Drat."

They laid the baby on Dana's chest for a moment and she and Fox stroked her damp hair. For a brief instant they looked at each other but then their eyes returned to the tiny creature. She was very small. _My God, she's beautiful... it looks like her hair will be red... like Dana... just what he had wanted... just what he had hoped for... although it wouldn't have mattered... a daughter... mine..._ "Welcome to the world, Brenda Marie," he said softly. "I love you."

The placenta was delivered and Amy was preparing to stitch Dana up, when suddenly all hell broke lose. Dana cried out in pain. Fox who had been wandering over to watch them clean up the new baby hurried back to her side. 

"What's wrong?"

Dana was panting and pushing trying to endure the pain. After it passed everyone was staring, waiting for her to answer. "I don't know what's wrong it felt like another contraction. Ahhhh."

Fox became terrified. Dana had screamed! She hadn't screamed throughout her entire labor, had held it all in. _She must be in agony to yell like that._

He shouted at Amy. "What the hell is wrong? Damn it, this isn't supposed to happen." He felt himself panicking... Dana... if he lost Dana....

He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Take it easy, son. Yelling doesn't help." Walter had been standing by Margaret's side holding her as she had oohed and ahhed over her new granddaughter...the first redhead in the lot. He moved to his son-in-law quickly however.

Dana curled up her body and screamed again. Fox thought he was going to climb straight up the wall. _What the hell is wrong._ He tried to control, tried not to panic but the fear was clutching at his heart. The only thing restraining him from he knew not what was Walter's paternal comforting hand on his shoulder. Then he heard Amy's voice.

"Shit!"

_Shit? The doctor just said shit. My god what was happening?_ Before he could form another question Dana screamed again.

Over Dana's screams he heard Amy giving instructions to the nurse. "Get another incubator in here quick. We've got twins! It's a breach."

"I need an anesthesiologist... stat... Start prepping in case we have to do a c-section..." ordered Amy. 

"But..." said Fox... Then it hit him.

_Twins?_ He turned and looked at Walter, lost all color and started to go down. 

Walter Skinner suddenly found himself with an armful of Mulder. He looked across his step daughter to his wife and nodded in Dana's direction indicating that she should help her daughter and that he would take care of Fox. She smiled and nodded in reply. Holding his nearly unconscious son-in-law up he guided him into a chair and put his head down between his legs. "Come on, Fox, take some deep breaths." As his son started to raise his head, Walter held it down. "Not so fast, son. Take it easy... deep breaths. That's right. Don't move I'm going to get you a glass of water." 

He stepped over to the bedside table and filled a glass with water and then knelt down by Fox helping him raise his head and get a drink. "Keep breathing take it easy you don't want to miss your other child being born do you?" Mulder looked up at him his face a total blank.

_I've never seen Fox look so stunned or be so speechless._ Skinner laughed to himself. _'Course if I'd ended up with surprise twins they would probably have had to pick me up off the floor as well._ Walter knelt beside Fox gently rubbing his back. 

Slowly Fox became aware of his surroundings. Margaret was holding Dana's hand and encouraging her. At Amy's announcement that she was having twins Dana had stopped screaming. She had been ordered not to push, but she didn't seem to have very much control over it. Amy was again giving her encouragement telling her to hang in there as the anesthesiologist entered the room, and then the young physician caught sight of Margaret ever so slightly shaking her head in distress as a tiny foot emerged. Suddenly Amy had a vision of Dana's Gran...."You'll be a wonderful doctor Amy Chan... but remember that the complicated procedure isn't always best. Sometimes it's best to work with nature and not against it...." How she had loved and admired Gran... the stories she had told of the babies she had delivered. Gran had inspired her to go into obstetrics to begin with for the joy of helping new life into the world.

"It's going to be okay, Dana..." said Amy softly. She turned to the anesthesiologist, "It's a breach. I'm going to make one try at delivering, if I fail be ready." He nodded at her and went over to get his equipment ready, just in case. Ever so gently she reached in and freed the other foot. "Now push, girlfriend... one good hard one...." Mulder watched from a sitting position as his second child was born. 

"It's a boy!" he burst out. "We have a boy and a girl." His son had been a sunnyside up baby born facing the ceiling... yeah... upside down... backwards.... just like his father. Well, you sure hadn't been able to miss the sex. He turned to look at his wife who by this time was exhausted and beyond speech. She simply nodded yes and started to shake. Dana couldn't seem to stop shaking Fox collected his thoughts and turned to Amy. "Is Dana alright? She's shaking."

"She'll be fine. It's just shock. Her mind had relaxed thinking that labor was over so that the shock of finding out that she had another baby to go has drained her. Give her about half an hour and she should be fine. Congratulations you two." She turned and smiled at Dana. "Are you done now? Can I sew the tear up?"

Dana smiled back but didn't say anything as Amy gave her a local and stitched her up, mumbling to herself about rechecking the damned ultrasound.

"Fox?" Walter asked, "Do you want to go over and look at your new son?" Strange, Fox seemed a bit hesitant.

Fox nodded yes and so Walter helped him up and guided his dazed son over to watch them clean up his new little boy. 

"Would you like to hold your little boy, Mr. Mulder? Do you feel up to it?" 

Fox just stood there numbly in answer to the nurses question. Walter thought that he looked to be in as much shock as Dana.

Walter realized that something more was at play here, something deeply emotional. Fox had been so eager to touch his little girl, but now he seemed strangely reluctant. It didn't make sense in light of the way he had picked up Little Squirt so easily and naturally. 

"Don't be afraid to hold your son, Fox," said Walter softly remembering what little he knew about his son-in-law's upbringing. "Don't ever be afraid to show him that you love him...."

Fox nodded and took the infant in his arms. He was very small, frighteningly so with a head of dark hair... he felt tears start to run down his cheeks knowing that his own father had never held him this way... Then he was embarrassed. He turned away not wanting anyone to notice the tears. "You're a wimp, boy.... have to make a man out of you...." Those hated words... 

Walter put a hand on his shoulder, bringing him back to reality, turned him back toward him and then wiped the tears away with his handkerchief.

"Don't you dare tell me to blow my nose." He cracked at the man he very much wished had been his father. "Don't worry, Mulder, I'll save that for Little Fox." Mulder grinned at him and handed the baby to Walter. "There you go, Gramps." He began studying his daughter. She was so cute and tiny, so much easier to relate to. "Hey, Scully, if we can get Gramps to give him up you want to hold your son..."

Dana nodded no but didn't say anything. She was just too tired. In truth, she was dying to hold him, but she simply felt too weak and was afraid he might slip from her arms.

Walter handed the baby boy to Margaret as Fox turned to Walter and held out his daughter to him to hold, ignoring the looks of displeasure on the faces of the nurses. His father-in-law took her happily, while Fox went over to hold Dana's hand. Looking down at his exhausted wife he had a sudden memory of her in the coma and then other thoughts came unbidden. _Sam, oh God, Sam... I'm a dad... the happiest day of my life and you aren't here with me... Sam...._

Dana looked at him and for an instant her joy was overcome by sadness... Even on this day, the day that should be the happiest of his life, his thoughts, she knew, were marred by the one who was absent. She gazed up at him, her beautiful, dark and brooding man. He brushed her hair away gently and bent down and kissed her softly. His wife was becoming a little more animated but he could see that she still wasn't up to holding either of her new babies for now and he was grateful that once again she had seemed to read his thoughts and understand. It was alright that she couldn't hold them just yet, Walter and Meg were having a blast. 

Walter was thinking that this was the first time he really felt like a grandfather. He was learning to love and enjoy all of Meg's grandchildren but he always thought of them as her grandchildren. The older ones called him Uncle Walt or occasionally at Mulder's urging Uncle Wally. But these, these were his grandchildren, they would call him grandpa. 

As a nurse moved to take the babies away the door opened and who should come in but Aunt Sophia, and a small army of staff trying to stop her. Amy signaled them to wait. She'd known this family a long long time. Whoever the woman in the blue Afro was it had to be another wonderful relative, and she wasn't about to interrupt the two tough guys and Dana's mom. Since the twins appeared to be quite healthy in spite of their small size, she let them enjoy themselves a bit longer. 

"Aw.... shucks.... I missed it... Always wanted to see someone push a watermelon through a keyhole in defiance of the laws of physics," said Sophia. "Just got back in town...." She took one look at the little boy and grinned wickedly. "See... I told you so... that's what you get for arguing with your Aunty Sophia.... and as for you," she said to Dana, "serves you right. You fool around with the Mulder men and you never know what might happen! Fortunately you're a little hellion. You can take it. And a little redhead for Fox. Perfect... See you later..." With that she was gone in the same whirlwind style with which she had entered.

After staring at Sophia's retreating form, Fox noticed the nurses huffing and puffing but thought he'd give Dana one more chance to hold one or both of them. "You feel up to holding them yet, Shorts?"

Dana still didn't say anything but she nodded yes, so Fox handed her their son. She was still shaking a little but she managed to hold him for a couple of minutes. Taking him back from her Fox handed him to the impatient nurse and then took his daughter from Walter and handed her to Dana. She cuddled her for a few minutes and then the nurse took her.

Margaret who had been waiting in quiet amusement through Aunt Sophia's dramatic appearance stood up and said, "Well I'm going to go call the family and tell them about your little Valentine babies." She bent over and kissed her daughter on the forehead before walking out.

Mulder looked up at the clock startled. It was one fifteen. _I'll be damned, February fourteenth._


	4. Chapter 4

A couple of hours after the birth of his children Dana, Meg and Walter had insisted that Fox go home and get some rest. He was dead on his feet, but he didn't want to leave Dana and the new babies, but since it was three am and this was his second night without much sleep he acquiesced. Dana had been asleep for over an hour anyway and the babies being a little on the small side were to spend the next twenty four hours in the nursery instead of Dana's hospital room except when she was feeding them. Walter and Meg had insisted on driving him home. His father-in-law had told him that he would pick him up around one in the afternoon and take him back to the hospital so that he could get his car after he visited his new family. Fox had started to insist that he was quite capable of driving himself, and Dana had briefly awakened to agree with Walter. They had started to argue when Skinner had thought it best to intervene. He'd grabbed Mulder's upper arm in a vice like grip and frog marched him out the door. As Fox opened his mouth to protest, Walter had threatened to throw him over his shoulder. Fox Mulder had considered the proposition and decided that he wasn't about to test whether or not Walter, in his present AD mode was serious and had finally followed meekly along.

When they had gotten home both Meg and Walter had insisted on coming in. Meg to check the kitchen and see what needed to be stocked for this unexpected early arrival and Walter, much to Mulder's chagrin, to "tuck him in." Walter had poured him two fingers of whiskey, ordered him to drink and then taken him upstairs and sat and waited while he got ready for bed. Fox had griped at him the whole time. "I don't need a GD mother hen, Skinner."

Walter could tell how irritated Fox was when he started calling him Skinner in that tone of voice. "You don't, Mulder? I know you. If I don't make sure that you're asleep then you'll get up and pace around the house and run errands, make calls and even go over case files, you are so damn wound up. You need to stop and rest. You've just acquired a handful and they are going to be released in about thirty six hours. Dana needs you rested."

"Yeah. I know but I don't think that I can get to sleep. My mind is running a marathon. Two kids... jeez... two.... and I've never been certain I was really ready for one."

"You'll survive," said Walter dryly, "Now, lay down and close your eyes for a few minutes and I bet your body will take advantage of the situation."

Fox sighed and stopped arguing as he got under the covers. He figured he'd wait until Walter left and get back up and take care of business. He made it ten minutes and to wondering how much longer his mother hen was going to hang around when his body gave out and he was asleep.

Walter gave it another five minutes to make sure that Fox wasn't faking it and then got up and headed downstairs to his wife. 

She smiled at the tired look on his face. "Is Fox asleep?"

"Finally! I swear that boy runs on nervous energy. Are you ready to head home?"

"Definitely! I hope JF is hungry when I get there."

Walter laughed. "I guess he's going to miss his bottle tonight."

"Maureen gave it to him earlier. And I'm dying here. I'll be glad when we get moved into the new house and are closer to Dana and Fox. The apartment's nice but I want a larger place close in."

"Bill said the renovations would be done in two to four weeks, depending on the weather. Are you sure it wouldn't be better to hire some professional movers to pack everything up and move it."

"Don't be silly dear. That's a waste of money when we have the Scully brigade available. Besides the kids are going to have to pack up a lot of their stuff that they left at the old house and take it home with them. The new house is still quite large with four bedrooms and an attic but not near as big as that old six bedroom monstrosity that we spent the last twelve years in. I'm am definitely looking forward to that big remodeled kitchen in the new house. Even a trash compactor." Margaret sighed as Walter locked the front door and led her out to the car.

Walter tried not to laugh, _a trash compactor... who would have thought it!_ He thought about how three months ago Fox had slipped into his office and asked if he had anything in mind for Mom's Christmas present? He had replied that he was thinking about diamond earrings or maybe a necklace. 

"Very romantic, Walt, but I don't think that's what she wants."

Walter looked up at his son-in-law questioningly and he had continued. "I saw her going over appliances for the new house yesterday and I swear that she was sighing over a trash compactor." 

At Walter's skeptical look he added. "I asked her if she was going to get one and she said no it was too decadent. But she definitely looked wishful."

"So I'll tell her to just get one."

"You know the Scully women, well at least Mom and Dana, they won't spoil themselves. However, if you were to set it up with Bill and buy it for Christmas..."

Walter had thought that Fox was crazy but he'd arranged with Bill Scully, who was doing the renovation work, to have the kitchen design modified with a spot for the compactor and had the box beside the tree. He'd also gotten the more romantic earrings but on Christmas morning Fox had been right. Margaret kept eyeing the large box with a happy smile. He wished he could have thanked Fox that day but they hadn't been talking so he had let it go. His son-in-law was one of the most caring and observant people he knew. 

As he drove back to the co-op he thought that he too would be glad to be settled in closer to Dana and Fox in the house that they had bought. Just a few more weeks.

* * *

Walter took a late lunch and dropped Fox at the hospital the next day before going back to work. When he got there, he found Dana in tears. At first he assumed that it was just hormonal, but then before he knew it she was up in his arms.

"I can't leave them, Fox..." she wailed. "I just can't..." She was still so tired and felt so sore, and she hadn't wanted to cry.

"Leave who, angel..." he said wrapping his arms around her.

"Little boy's weight has dropped two ounces and Brenda has fallen just under five pounds, and they want to keep the babies but send me home...."

"Oh, they do do they?" he asked his face darkening.

"I've paged Amy but she's in surgery...."

"It's okay, Dana. It's gonna be okay...." He gently helped his wife back into bed. She seemed so vulnerable just then, finally a Dana in need of someone to lean on. "I'll be back in a little while."

It didn't take him long to get the matter settled and he didn't need Amy's help either. He had had to raise his voice down in the billing office, and of course security had been called, but one call to his bank had assured Dana a bed as long as she wanted one. God, he was pissed. She didn't need this kind of stress... not now. Her labor had been too long and too hard. Then he had gone to the nursery prepared to put up a fuss there until he got some answers about his children, but they had informed him that the babies were already in their mother's room. He returned and found Dana nursing his son. Quickly he reassured her that he had taken care of everything. "Are they alright, Dana? Are they healthy?"

"Yes," she said relieved, "but they don't like to send babies home at less than five pounds, and I... well... I just didn't want to leave them...."

"Well you don't have to. Money talks.... damned insurance companies...." 

Fox Mulder happily picked up his new daughter and began to play with her while his wife nursed their son. They began debating boys names, Brenda Marie Mulder having already been decided for their little girl. "Fox, I don't see why you want to give the poor boy three names. You know what government red tape is like. What if he decides to join the FBI or the military, do you know how irritated he is going to be at us for giving him three names?" Dana told him when he announced that his son would be called Patrick Steven Wolf Mulder.

"Hey we're his parents, irritating the kids is in our job description. You think he's going to like being saddled with the moniker Wolf?" At her smile he laughed. "You know how much I loved growing up with a name like Fox."

"Then why call..."

"Because that was my great uncle's name, Gran's beloved first husband and I want to honor their memory."

"Okay, fine. Patrick Wolf is fine, but why the Steven?"

Mulder looked obstinate but his only reply was, "I like the name Steven and want to name him that too." 

Dana could tell that he was hiding something but had no idea what or why. She didn't know any Steven's, at least not closely. Fox didn't know any Steven's, so why... She sure hoped it wasn't after Steven Spielburg or something silly like that. She detached Boy Mulder, who had fallen asleep sucking, and handed him to his father to put in the bassinet. 

A nurse came in. "Time for them to go back to the nursery..." she announced. Dana started to protest, but Fox forestalled her. She looked tired. He got up and helped the nurse push the bassinets out of the room.

They hadn't been gone to long when the phone rang. "Scully." She answered out of long habit.

She heard a laughing voice reply on the other end of the phone. "Oh, and I was looking for Ms. Mulder."

"Hi, Mom."

"Hello yourself, dear. How are you feeling."

"Tired but fine. Definitely a little sore. So how did your checkup go with Amy?"

"Fine. I'm a free woman now, well partly anyway, and allowed to drive, like I hadn't already. I thought I'd run by the store and pick up some groceries for you. You won't have to cook for at least two weeks when you get home and that chest freezer is now stocked."

Dana laughed, "Let me guess the Scully and McBride food pantry."

"Well they all know how hard it is with just one baby and now you have two."

Dana laughed, "I know, I know. Knowing that crew by the time I get home I'll have enough food to hold out till next Christmas."

"So you sounded a little put out when I called. Something wrong?"

"Not really, it's just that Fox is being stubborn about the boy's name."

"What, he doesn't want something silly does he?" Knowing her son-in-law's sense of humor she thought there was an outside chance that he might get a little crazy but...

"No, nothing silly. Unless you consider Patrick Wolf, silly."

"Mom's first husband's name. What's wrong with that? He was his great uncle."

"That's not the problem. He wants to give him three names. You know what the paperwork would be like if he joins the military or a government job. They insist on using all three names..."

"What's the other name?"

"He wants to call him Patrick Steven Wolf Mulder. Now is that a handful or what?!"

"I see, dear." 

Her mom had suddenly gotten quiet and Dana began to suspect that her mom knew why Fox was being so stubborn. _I wonder what she knows that I don't? Well I can be stubborn, too. And I'm not saddling my son with three names._

"Walter's on his way by, would you tell him that I'm going to pick up Sophia. She, JF and I are going grocery shopping for you and us and that I'll see him at home in a couple of hours."

"Okay. Mom, do you know..." But the dial tone told her that her mom had rung off before she could ask her if she knew any Stevens. 

Fox came back fifteen minutes later carrying Little Wolf, explaining. "They insisted on giving him a blood test and woke him up and he started crying. Brenda cried a little and went right back to sleep but Patrick Steven Wolf here took great offense. Hell, if someone stuck a needle in my heel I'd get mad too.... I thought I'd take him on a little walk to see his Mommie." 

He was cuddling and cooing at the baby. Dana was glad that he seemed to be getting over his reluctance to hold and cuddle their son. He never had any reservations with their daughter but he'd been shy around the Little Wolf. _And why the hell does he insist on calling him that?_

"Think a drink might settle him down, Dana?"

She held out her arms, and began to nurse her son once again when they brought back Brenda. Fox just shrugged. They were in the middle of shift change. He really didn't mind having both babies around anyway. "Fox, we've really got to settle this name thing..." Before she could continue her step father walked in. _Good. Maybe he'll listen to Walter. Walter was in the military so he can convince Fox that three names would be cumbersome._

Dana waited until all the hello's had been said, her son had again fallen asleep and Fox had handed him over to Walter to hold. 

"So have you two decided on a name?" Her step father asked.

"Yes," said Fox.

"No," said Dana.

"Uh Oh..." thought Walter.

"Fox wants to give him three names." Dana had answered. "Patrick Steven Wolf." She didn't say any more not wanting to prejudice her case. She was hoping that Skinner would point out how cumbersome that would be without her prompting. _Course if he doesn't I'll prompt him a little._

Walter was was happily playing with the baby and trying to think of how not to become embroiled in the argument, not paying too much attention to what she said or even his answer. 

"That's a nice name." He was holding the little boy's hand in his, amazed by how much he realized his son had grown in only a couple of weeks when he added. "Steven's my middle name."

_Shit! Well you could have just told me, Fox, and saved all the argument._ She looked over at her husband, who had suddenly taken to contemplating his feet. _How the hell did he find that out?_ She didn't get a chance to ask however because suddenly she had a visitor. Cancerman walked in the door. Of all the damn nerve.... Walter and Fox glared. Dana eyed him coolly.

"I understand congratulations are in order...." said C-man. _If he tries to light a cigarette I'll kill him...._ three minds thought simultaneously....

Walter handed the little boy back to Dana. He wanted his and Mulder's hands free just in case. He didn't expect trouble but best to be prepared. Beside, if Cancerman pissed Fox off Walter would have to stop him from hitting the man. _Provided I can control my own temper._ He thought.

C-man hadn't expected a warm welcome, wasn't entirely certain of what his own motivation in coming was... to gage reactions... to remind them of his existence... to see the babies?

"Twins...." he observed. Their silent stares didn't particularly perturb him. He looked in the bassinet at the little girl... "Hmm... redhead... like you, Scully... cute..." Then he walked over to the bed. Fox was very nearly out of his chair the tension building in his body. C-man held out his arms for the little boy wrapped in a blue blanket. With a touch of reluctance Dana handed him over. Fox started to get to his feet but Walter pushed him down.

"He looks exactly like you, Mulder," said C-man. "I remember.... first time in my life I ever saw William Mulder at a loss. Didn't know what the hell to do with you."

"Yeah... right...."

"Named them yet Scully?" he asked.

"Yes..." she said looking directly at him. She didn't entirely understand what the bastard was doing here... what game he was playing... but she sensed her baby was in no danger for the moment. "Brenda Stephanie Margaret and Patrick Walter Wolf...." 

Walter could barely contain a snicker. Fox looked at his wife in surprise, and then he remembered why he had fallen so in love with her to begin with. She was strong and independent and could hold her own with anyone. He smiled at her with his eyes.

"Good names...." he handed the boy to Mulder. "Good to see you hold your hostage to fortune, Mulder. Wasn't something your father could do." He laid a package he was carrying down on the bed and headed to the door.

"Maybe you are smarter than I ever gave you credit for, Mulder, or maybe not. Some of us sacrificed everything to our cause... Well, they say living well is the best revenge. I'd say your well on the way to getting yours. Watch them carefully." He nodded at the babies and was gone as quickly as he entered.

"Now what the hell was that all about?" sighed Walter feeling a pain in his gut.

"It was a gesture of respect...." said Dana quietly, "And a warning...." 

"I'm going to arrange for some guards for these two while they are here," said Walter.

"It's alright...." said Dana softly. "He wasn't threatening us... he was telling us to be careful. He seemed a little shaken." She mused almost to herself. The nurses came in and informed them that a mistake had been made in bringing the babies back to the room and took them away.

"Think I'll arrange for the guards anyway..." muttered Walter.

"Is this box ticking or anything?" asked Mulder shaking the package around. He was remembering the night he had come so close to killing C-man... Why? What do I have? No wife... no family.... some power.... My God, he could have ended up like C-man. If he hadn't met Dana.... empty... so empty.... He suppressed a shudder.

"I think it's safe to open it."

Inside there were two silver baby cups with a family crest on each of them and an old photograph... a picture of C-man with Fox as a child of about 5, his arm around his shoulder with a year old Samantha in his arm and Bill standing beside him. Ruth must have taken the picture.

"Jeez...." he muttered in disgust.... "Oh, and by the way... where the hell did Stephanie come from?"

"I like it..." replied Dana innocently. "Patrick Walter Wolf and Brenda Stephanie Margaret...sends a good message...."

"Loud and clear...." laughed Walter. "But do you really want to name the kid Walter Wolf? I mean Walter's bad enough but when they use Wally..."

"Wally Wolf?" Mulder grinned up at his father-in-law. At Skinner's disgusted look he finished "Okay, I guess it's settled then Patrick Steven Wolf Mulder it is." He grinned. He'd even go for the Stephanie. It was kind of pretty. 

As her husband looked at her a smile breaking across his face she said to him softly, "You could have just told me why you wanted the name, Fox."

He simply shrugged his shoulders and smiled at her. He'd been a bit embarrassed to admit how much it meant to him to name his son after Skinner. "Okay I'll make out their birth certificates." 

At her nod of yes he sat down to fill out the first paperwork that he could ever remember being joyful about. _The kids were going to hate this when they got older but at least this way, they could blame it on each other._ He exchanged one of those knowing looks with Dana and felt happy in spite of their unexpected visitor. 

Skinner looked up puzzled, realizing that he had missed something but had no idea what.

* * *

As Walter and Margaret headed home from the hospital that evening after visiting their new grandchildren he asked, "What were you and Dana whispering and giggling about over there?"

"I asked her if she and Fox had settled their debate about naming the baby."

"What debate? They seemed to have decided on his name by this afternoon, when I got there." He fibbed knowing that she would know he was fibbing. He didn't care to explain about Cancerman. 

"She didn't want to give her son three names but Fox was adamant. Dana was puzzled...seems she couldn't figure out why Fox was so adamant about naming the baby Steven. I didn't tell her, I thought I'd wait and see if Fox would. But I could guess, Walter Steven." She leaned against her husband and smiled. This little sports car did have one advantage it was easer to cuddle up to her husband this way than in a big car or mini-van.

Walter patted his wife's hand on his arm wondering if she was right about that being the reason why Fox had chosen the name. As far as he knew no one at the FBI knew his middle name. But if that was the reason it made sense then that when C-man had shown up Dana had gone him one further. Hmm.... How had he missed that little by play? "How did he find out, my middle name's not on any of my Bureau records? Did you tell him, Meg?"

"Wasn't me, dear. But he does work for the FBI you know. And he can be very determined when he wants something.

He grinned back at her and sighed. "He certainly can. I hope Little Fox isn't quite as stubborn. Oh, and by the way, it's Patrick Steven Wolf and Brenda Stephanie Margaret..."

"Now you know that you don't mean that about Little Fox, Walter, and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to live with your ego." She laughed aloud. Sounded as though Fox had really won the fight this time.

"No, I suppose not. But sometimes..." His voice trailed off. It had been a hectic couple of weeks.

* * *

Fox was absolutely adamant that Dana's homecoming should be nothing less than perfect, and he and Aunt Sophia worked very hard to see that it would be that way. Everything in the house was in excellent order. They had rearranged things temporarily so that the sofa bed was near the TV, had opened it, and gotten it ready with blankets and pillows. Knowing Dana, Aunt Sophia had tried to convince her nephew that this last step was overkill, but he had been adamant. HIS wife was going to rest. HIS wife wasn't going to climb stairs. HIS wife wasn't going to drive. 

"Yeah, right," thought Sophia, but there were times when it was simply easier to humor him. They could put the sofa bed away later after Dana announced that she was going to sleep upstairs.

Maureen and Bill's baby had outgrown the bassinet, so they leant it to Fox, and along with the cradle swing, that gave them two containers which were set up downstairs. There were little boy disposable diapers and little girl disposable diapers on both floors with everything that would be needed for changing. Fox even tried to fit both cribs in the bedroom/sitting room but that didn't quite work. A hasty call to Margaret reassured him that everything would be alright, that with babies that little they would both fit in one crib for the time being. Later they could and should be in their own bedroom.

Fox went to the store and bought disposable bottles of formula to supplement Dana's nursing as the pediatrician had suggested, and yes, even the large box of Kotex, only he made certain to make sure the price was marked before bringing it to the register. Then he stopped and got another car seat to toss in the back of the Mustang. Dana was to do nothing but come home and play with her babies. He had even had two dozen yellow roses delivered in a Waterford vase he had purchased to sit next to the sofa bed and tell her every moment how much he loved her. It was the first time that he had ever bought her flowers. He was determined not to screw up this time, to have everything just right for her. He felt as though he owed it to her for the way he had treated her after Arizona. Once his anger had faded, he had come to realize how truly unreasonable he had been, but then that was him... a Mulder all the way through... so like his father sometimes... The moment finally arrived. It was time for him to go to the hospital. Aunt Sophia offered to come and help, but he declined wanting it to be a special moment for just he and Dana and Bren and Wally Wolf. With the seats tossed in back of his dream car, Fox headed off to the hospital whistling under his breath. 

He kissed his wife, who said that she hoped they could get home fairly quickly since the kids would be looking to be fed soon, and they began to bundle up the babies in snow suits. Melissa had bought the cutest warm suits for them, white and had hand embroidered, their names on the front. Of course, Mulder couldn't quite get Brenda into hers. It had a combination of zippers....well, it was a little twisted... what the heck... It should, he decided, be just fine. He checked Dana out and with each of them carrying a baby, they headed out to the car.

It was then that Fox made the discovery... no seat belts in the back of the Mustang... uh oh...he had ordered that they be installed... but he had never checked to see that it had been done. He was, he decided, in big trouble now. He had two babies and an exhausted wife in the hospital lobby, and two car seats and no way to fasten them securely. In other words, he had no way to get his babies home. By the time he got back to the lobby the nurses had left Dana sitting with an infant in each arm. Wally Wolf was already starting to fuss.

"Uh... Dana..." he said softly, "We have a little problem..."

_Now why did I know that?_ "What sort of problem, sweetheart?" she asked him. She was all bundled up in her coat and was starting to sweat, and didn't exactly feel like nursing Patrick here in the lobby.

"Uh... they sort of didn't install the seatbelts in the car..."

Brenda let out a yell. 

"You mean you never checked!" she burst out. "I've been telling you and telling you to make sure the car seat fit okay..."

"Yeah, well... you know me..."

"Yes... yes I do know you... Why am I not surprised that you didn't do it? Oh, hell. It felt like she needed to change her pad.... "Here, hold him. I'll be right back... and hurry up and think of something...." Slowly and painfully she walked off to the ladies room. 

_Okay, Mulder... think.... I mean you sure f**cked up royally this time...._ Wally Wolf was no longer just cranky. Both of them were screaming at the top of their lungs and everyone was looking at him... Aliens... yeah... aliens... give him some aliens... mutants... sewer slugs... jeez...."

"I'll call your mother," he said miserably when Dana came back. Ah jeez... and Dana had been so good about the car... He knew she had been miffed when he came home with it, but he hadn't exactly gotten the knee buckling lecture he had expected. She had been very sweet about it, and had even told him to enjoy it. He didn't know of course that Skinner had gotten home first that night and Meg had hastily admonished her daughter over the phone that they were both to blame. You couldn't send little boys to a toy store by themselves and expect them to come home empty handed. Dana had wanted to blow a gasket, but had deferred to her mother's wisdom. He only knew that she hadn't yelled and had accepted the situation with good grace, and he, jerk that he was, hadn't even bothered to check the seat belts.

"But, Fox, dear, Walter has the wagon and he's at a meeting. The MG is in for a tune up."

"Oh, shit.... oops.... sorry, Mom... talk to you later."

He had tried calling Bill, but Bill was unreachable, and he got the answering machine at their home number. Chris was in the same place that Bill was apparently, and Jen couldn't be reached either. Kevin of course had gone back to where he was stationed, and damn it all, Sinead and Tim were in Ireland. Melissa was no where to be found, and he didn't have Chuck's work number. Aunt Sophia didn't have keys to the car if she even knew how to drive. 

So, he had called Walter out of a meeting... an important meeting with representatives from the Attorney General's Office. Skinner pulled up in front of the hospital having been told only that there was an emergency and run in the door to see a sheepish looking Mulder holding one screaming infant while Dana tried to nurse the other, but was so obviously tense and upset that her milk was not flowing. 

"What is it? What's wrong?" he demanded concerned.

"Uh... there's no seatbelts in the back of my car...." said Fox.

"What? What? You called me out of a top level budget meeting because there were no f**king seatbelts in your car? Jeez... I should have left you in Alaska that time... or maybe New Jersey.... hell, I should have chained Scully to the wall so she couldn't go to Arizona...." 

"I'm sorry," said Fox miserably. He realized that once again he had let everyone down, including the man he had come to respect so much. It felt like being 12 years old again.... _I don't know what happened to her dad... I can't remember... I can't remember... I'm sorry, dad... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry...._

Walter sighed and said, "It's a good thing the Attorney General has a sense of humor about this stuff. Never mind... forget it...." he sighed, "Let's just get Dana and the babies home." Just then Aunt Sophia pulled up in a cab.

"I got worried when you didn't come back...."

"I'm glad you are here Aunt Sophia..." said Dana quietly. "Mulder, give her the keys to the car..."

"What?"

"Give her the keys to the car. These two screaming creatures are all yours. Aunt Sophia can drive me home in the Mustang while you deal with your children... Thank you for coming Walter... I appreciate it. I was getting ready to call a cab myself." With that she handed both the babies to her husband and walked out the door with Sophia... They placed the two car seats on the curb and pulled away. Aunt Sophia popped the clutch spinning the back wheels, then ground the gears as she put it into second gear instead of first, the car shook but didn't stall and finally she got it going forward very nearly hitting an incoming ambulance on the way out and running the first stop light she came to, all within sight of a deeply shaken FBI agent.

"Sit down with your kids, Fox, while I put the car seats in. I've had a bit more practice."

Fox Mulder did as he was told and watched Walter quickly install the seats. He came back and took Bren from Mulder and they walked out to the car. Their father watched as Walter secured them into the seats. "These seats are a little big for them. They'll be okay for now but you need to go by the store and get some infant seat pads. I forget what they are called just ask the clerk.

They got into the car and as Walter pulled out of the parking lot Mulder started to apologize again. "I'm really sorry, Sir. It was stupid I should..."

"Forget about it, Fox. My part of the meeting was done hours ago and I just had to sit and listen to everybody else to be polite. This way instead of being stuck another three or four hours in that boring meeting I get to go home and spend time with Little Fox and Meg. Just you don't tell anyone I said that."

"You sure it's okay?"

"Yeah I'm sure. But I've got some bad news for you, Mulder. We're going to have to break down and buy second cars that can hold kids." They exchanged chagrinned looks and shuddered. 

His children, of course, screamed all the way home. Skinner decided to be smart and dump them on the doorstep and go home. He didn't wish to be embroiled in the battle that was likely to rage. He knew that Mulder was still deeply upset... with himself.

* * *

Eventually Dana got them nursed and changed and was so tired she simply laid them down on the sofa bed next to her. In truth, she was too tired to protest that she didn't need it open.

"Hey, Shorts.... how are you doing?" he asked sheepishly sitting on the edge.

"I'm fine, Mulder...."

"Yeah, right..." he stroked her head. "I'm sorry, baby. The car will go back to the dealer tomorrow for seat belts and I'll go out and buy a van in the next week or two. In the mean time I'll call Chris to come over like he said he would and put a new battery in the toyota. That should hold us."

"Okay..."

"I wanted everything to be perfect. I wanted to take pictures and... I guess I really screwed up..."

"I guess you really did," she replied.

"You have every right to be angry..."

"I suppose I do..." but then suddenly she smiled up at him. "But the roses are beautiful and you worked so hard... and you forgot to put this away." She held up the beautiful emerald and diamond chip tennis bracelet he had bought her as a homecoming gift... "And I love you so very much...."

"Then I'm forgiven?"

"Under one condition."

"What, angel?"

"That you come here and lay down next to me. I've been in the hospital for three days, and I just want you to hold me." She began adjusting babies on the bed. He slipped into bed next to her and wrapped his arms around her. Thing took a flying leap and sniffed at the infants, then decided not to dignify himself by bothering with them and curled up at the foot of the bed. Ignoring Thing as she usually did, Mama Thing, on temporary leave from pups hopped up too. Holding on to his wife, Fox was suddenly overcome with the realization of how lucky he was... All this love! Where had all this love come from? Sophia had forgotten to take Krycek downstairs in all the chaos and he watched the scene peacefully for several minutes before opening his mouth.....

"Open your legs, Scully... Up and at 'er, Mulder... Open you legs, Scully...."

"Not in your life, buster," muttered Dana. Fox found himself chuckling and suddenly he and his menagerie were all sound asleep.


End file.
